Manufacture of ingots.



S. T. WELLMAN.

MANUFACTURE OF INGOTS.

APPLIOATIOH rmm 11412.27, 1913.

1,081,997. F twa Dec. 23, 1913.

M651 666 Jlrwe 15(5) IWWZJ- mm j HQ UNITE STATES PiiTENT SAMUEL T. WELLMAN, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR To THE LIQUID FORGED STEEL COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

MANUFACTURE OF moors.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ]Dec. 23,1913.

Application filed March 27, 1913. Serial No. 757,052.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL T. W'nLLMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Manufacture of Ingo'ts, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to cast sound ingots, that is to say, ingots which are substantially free from segregation and piping.

It is in the nature of an improvement upon that process of producing ingots which includes the pouring of the metal into a tapered mold, whose large end is uppermost, and in jarring said metal, while it is soliditying, by a succession of vertical impacts.

Practical difiiculties have been encountered in making sound ingots in the manner stated. The metal in contact with the walls of the mold first solidifies, thereby forming a shell, which at first fits snugly against the tapered walls of the mold. But as the solidification proceeds, this shell cools, and shrinks away from the said walls. This takes place before the middle part of the mold has become solid, and while the jarring ofthe metal is being continued. In fact, it is the jarring during the final solidification of the metal which is most efficient in preventing piping. After the metal shell has shrunk away from the side walls of the mold and the jarring is continued, the still molten or pasty metal in the shell will be caused to settle down in the shell; and so much lateral pressure willbe produced thereby, that in many cases, the ingot shell will be split lengthwise. The splitting likewise pulls apart the pasty center of the shell and pro duces therein holes, which while not like I the ordinary pipes, are never heless quite as objectionable.

The'object of this invention is to prevent the splitting of ingots, while they are solidifying in a tapered mold, whose smaller end is down, and while the ingot is being subjected to the jarring action of repeated vertical impacts.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a mold and associated apparatus, in which the invention is embodied, and by which it may be practised. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view in the plane indicated by line 22 on Fig.

1. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view in the plane indicated by line 33 on Fig. 1.

In carrying out the invention, a tapered mold A is employed, said mold being largest at its upper end. The lower portion of the mold cavity, from the point marked a downward, may, and, preferably, does have vertical side walls. There is preferably also a hole a in the bottom of the mold. This hole is covered by a bottom plate B having a pro jection b which fits in the hole a While as stated the best construction involves the use of a mold whose cavity at its lower end has vertical instead of tapered walls, and while it is advantageous to have the movable bottom plate B, and to employ also a downwardly movable plate C which fits in the lower part of the mold cavity, these are minor features of the invention. The primary features of the invention are that the mold is partially filled by dry, free flowing sand I), which rests upon the plate B, and in turn supports the plate C; and that in the lower end of the mold there is an opening a or a plurality of such openings through which this sand may slowly flow out.

E represents a conical pointed valve which screws through a lug f fixed to the side of a sand delivery spout F, so that by turning this valve, thearea of the discharge opening for the sand may be varied as required to enable the same to flow out at the desired rate. The construction described is associated with each of the openings The mold has at its lower end ears a by which the mold is secured to the vertically vibrating horizontal table g. -This table is formed on the upper end of a vertically reciprocating piston G, which is movable vertically in a fixed cylinder H mounted on a suitable foundation J. K represents a valve easing which contains a valve to control the inflow and outflow of compressed air through the port it. This pneumatic cylinder and piston as a means for moving the mold up, and allowing it to fall so that when the lower end of the piston strikes the bottom of the cylinder, the mold and metal therein will be jarred as by vertical impact, is of familiar construction, and not a part of the present invention.

When a sufi'icient quantity of sand has been put into the mold, and the plate C has also been put into the mold resting upon this sand, the molten metal is poured in.

. down in the'tapered'mold itwill fora time be compressed laterally to a small degree, but enough to force the still fluid or pasty metal upward so as to fill what might otherwise become a permanent pipe. It has been found of advantage in producing this compression to put a heavy weight W in the top of the mold resting upon the metal therein.

The purpose of the plate 0 is to keep the metal from direct contact with the sand. And the purpose of the bottom plate B and its downward projection through hole a is to aflord a convenient means by which the solidified ingot may beforced upwardly in the mold for the purpose of removal.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. The process of formingsound ingots which consists in pouring the molten metal into a tapered mold whose large end is uppermost and which has in its bottom a quantity of free flowing sand, in jarring the mold while the molten metal is solidifying, and in allowing the sand to flow out through a hole in the mold wall at a rate such as will allow the shrinking ingot shell to settle down in the mold and maintain contact with the side walls thereof. v

2. In ingot forming mechanism, the com bination of a tapered mold whose large end is uppermost, and which has a hole through its wall near its lower end, a mass of free flowing sand in the bottom of said mold, and means for jarring the mold while it contains solidifying molten metal.

3. In ingot forming mechanism, the combination of a tapered mold whose large end is uppermost, and which has a hole through its wall near its lower end,'a mass of free flowing sand in the bottom of said mold, means for jarring the mold while it contains solidifying molten metal, and a valve to control the rate at which the same is allowed to flow out through said'hole.

4. In ingot forming mechanism, the combination of a mold whose mold cavity has vertical walls at the lower end thereof, and above them walls which regularly diverge toward the top,said mold having a hole through its wall near the bottom of said mold cavity, a mass of free flowing sand in the bottom of said mold cavity, a plate which rests upon said sand and forms the bottom of the metal receiving part of the mold cavity, and means for jarring the mold. In testimony whereof, ll hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL T. WELLMAN; Witnesses:

E. B. GILoHRIsT, E. L. THUns'roN. 

